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A part-time employee with no benefits, she couldn't afford surgery for tumors in her uterus

Insurers denied her for pre-existing condition; government said she made too much for aid

Sitting on a corner of her brown sofa in a modest rental apartment, Miss M. Turner creates hand-made jewelry -- not quite the image you might expect from a public face in the nation's bitter fight over health care reform.

In the months leading up to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling about the White House-backed Heath Care Affordability Act, Turner's photo went viral across the political blogosphere, accompanied by the provocative headline "I am Obamacare."

The high court ruled that the law's individual mandate -- the provision requiring all Americans to have health insurance -- will stand. Turner called the ruling "historic," "amazing" and "the right direction."

"I have to admit I was worried because ... I thought they were going to strike down part of it, especially the individual mandate," Turner said.

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Photos:Photos: Health care and the high court

Photos:Photos: Health care and the high court

Health care and the high court – Supporters of the health care legislation celebrate after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 ruling on June 28, 2012.

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Health care and the high court – Journalists and supporters and protesters of the health care law gather outside the Supreme Court after the justices ruled in favor of its constitutionality in a narrow decision.

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Health care and the high court – Protesters against the health care law rally outside the Supreme Court before the justices issue their ruling Thursday.

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Health care and the high court – Reporters and camera crews begin waiting early Thursday outside the Supreme Court in anticipation of the court's health care ruling.

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Health care and the high court – President Barack Obama signs the health care legislation in a March 23, 2010, ceremony with Democrats in the White House East Room. The law, which critics dubbed Obamacare, is Obama's signature legislation.

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Health care and the high court – The constitutionality of the 2,409-page act was challenged by 26 states. The most controversial aspect of the law -- the "individual mandate" -- would require individuals not covered by insurance via their employer or the government to purchase and maintain minimal health insurance or pay a penalty.

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Health care and the high court – The Supreme Court held three days of politically charged hearings in March on the Affordable Care Act.

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Health care and the high court – Opponents of Obama's health care legislation protest in front of the Supreme Court on March 28. Critics argued the law's requirement that most Americans have health insurance or pay a fine was an unconstitutional intrusion on individual freedom.

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Health care and the high court – Advocates for universal, government-financed health care carry signs one month before the health care overhaul was signed into law.

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Health care and the high court – Two years after Obama signed the health care legislation, the Supreme Court took up the historic test of whether it's constitutional.

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Health care and the high court – The Rev. Patrick Mahoney leads demonstrators in prayer outside the Supreme Court on Monday, June 25, as they await the court's ruling.

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Health care and the high court – The high court upheld the law's central provision -- a requirement that all people have health insurance. The decision will have an immediate and long-term impact on all Americans, both in how they get medicine and health care.

Last fall, Turner, 35, who is neither a politician nor a political operative, got noticed by grabbing a simple piece of paper and a blue Sharpie, and without even planning what to say, wrote, "I discovered my uterus was full of tumors. I couldn't pay for surgery and because it was now a 'pre-existing condition' insurance companies could (and did!) turn me down for coverage."

Turner says she was laid off for health-related absences and now makes a living with her hand-made jewelry business.

She set the timer on her small, red point-and-shoot camera and snapped a picture of herself holding the note and posted the photo on her blog www.giveneyestosee.com -- a site she's operated since 2001.

Her photo has "been all over the Web; that's crazy to me," said Turner, who prefers to be identified by her first initial only: M.

It has been shared, praised, criticized, discussed, debated, dissected and dismissed on a wide swath of political forums both well-known and not-so-well-known, including DailyKos, MoveOn.org, Democratic Underground, Progressive Libertarianism, Mother Jones, The Health Care Blog and The Voices In Frank's Head.

"Her hand written letter says nothing of her having the freedom to get the service and pay out of pocket, at possibly an outrageous cost, but get the life-saving service none-the-less," writes Susan Cassidy, at Progressive Libertarianism. "Nor does it mention the fact that she could have asked for a self-pay discount and then worked out a payment schedule that she could handle. No, because of the culture we have grown up in, it is her RIGHT to receive this service and it is clearly someone else's responsibility to pay for it."

In 2014, the law will prevent insurance companies from discriminating or denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition, says CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. For now, the law offers the federal Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, which allowed Turner to have her surgery.

"I never thought a simple picture on my humble little blog would be all over the Web, go viral," said Turner, who shares her home with her fiance and two cats.

"(It) would shut down my website three times a month because of the traffic. It was insane," Turner laughed. "One person said 'you're a hero' -- which made me blush because I didn't think I was a hero."

As a part-time national customer service representative working for the Nielson Co. in Tampa, Florida, Turner had no benefits.

"I was looking at being faced with tens of thousands of surgeries and no way to pay for it," she said. "I cried -- woo I cried."

Health companies turned her down for her pre-existing condition and government assistance denied her coverage for making too much money.

A friend told her about the Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan, insurance coverage under the Health Care Affordability Act, and Turner was accepted.

To raise the $5,000 co-pay she needed for surgery, plus the $13,000 emergency room visit, Turner's friends and family staged a large garage sale. She also asked online supporters for donations.

Another fundraising avenue for Turner was her hobby -- creating hand-made jewelry like her silver and gem-stone tree of life pendant.

Today her hobby has become her primary source of income. Nielson laid Turner off after she took a long absence from work to have her surgery.

Turner, a Democrat and self-described liberal, says she is grateful to Obama for his health care reform legislation because 51 million people like her are denied basic health care because they don't have health insurance.

Although she was excited when her story was featured on Obama's re-election website, she's more excited by Thursday's announcement.

"We had to drag people forward for women¹s rights, civil rights. Equality in this country, discrimination in this country, these are issues people fought against -- and health care is just the latest," she said. "I totally get that about the country: bad or good, you have to drag people kicking and screaming into the future."